Truly Blind
by MarblesG
Summary: Yakone Trial. She had been truly blind. She had been truly terrified.


**Disclaimer: I don't own A:TLA or LoK**

* * *

Numb. That was all she felt as she laid there. She didn't know where she was or what happened but she was numb. Surprisingly, she felt somewhat at peace. Being the chief of police, she was up to her toes in stress. Every day, she would be chasing gangs all over the city and arresting the pests left and right. Arresting them, no problem. The pattern of arrests, unbelievably annoying. The gang members would put up a good fight, but of course, no one could beat the "greatest earthbender who ever lived." If it wasn't her bending that intimidated the criminals, then it was her ego.

Peace was something she could easily adapt to. Wherever she was, she wouldn't mind taking a vacation here sometime soon. However, some things don't last forever. Just as she was getting comfortable, a twang of pain shot up her spine and up to her head, instantly erupting a raging headache that caused her vocal chords to work and produce a groan. One by one, her limbs started to feel a cold surface below them and made her even shiver. The once peaceful place that she was residing in just a few minutes ago was slowly disappearing and replacing it were the sounds of conversing people. All around her, whispers of "what happened's" and "my aching (insert body part here)'s" only added to the pounding in her head. Groan after groan, more of her body started to hurt and she did definitely not like it.

Her sight was hazy. Although her feet weren't properly on the ground of wherever she was, she could still feel small pitter patters of vibrations coming from around her through her hands and rest of her body. She didn't like it. Being blind already, she wasn't ready to lose her "sight" all together. Without making any movements, she tried focusing on whatever "earth" she was on. Her headache only making it more difficult, her efforts were pointless. She was still almost entirely blind.

_Toph._

The calling caused her to slightly flinch in the direction of the sound. It sounded like a whisper, but to her ears they could have easily been someone talking on a normal level of sound.

Toph.

Shouting. That's what it sounded like to her now. The concern now prominent through her name. They really needed her.

Toph!

She jolted upwards. Her eyes opened, but as usual, her vision was blank. Noise that were once whispers were now loud and rambunctious all around her. She was still on laying down on the ground, but her consciousness was now at full peak. Her breathing worried herself as they were quick and panicked. Air. She needed air. She felt as if she couldn't breathe. Taking the next couple minutes to breathe, her heart slowed and her breathing normalized. Unfortunately, her earthbending was still absent. Her "sight" was still gone. Unexpectedly, a warm hand was soon placed on the right side of her face. The being's heartbeat still a faint voice from her, she lay motionless.

"Thank the spirits. Yakone didn't get you."

Abrupt memories came flashing back into her mind. Yakone. The trial. The council. The maniacal laugh. Her limbs bending all over the place. Her feet lifting from the ground. Relying on her hearing to figure out what was going on. The way he _made_ her grab the keys. The way he _made_ her move towards him and unlock the handcuffs. And the way he made her body constrict in pain. It was all too much.

The chief of police shot up quickly only to regret it as the pounding in her head worsened. She brought her hand up to her head and rubbed her temples soothingly. She let out a long grunt of pain. With her other hand, she shooed the hand away from her face, her sight still hazy. Sound all over the room altered from loud to soft in just seconds. Everything was irritating her at the minute. Nonetheless, she tried to stand on her feet. With each movement, an ache started in single places of her body. Once she stood up, she stumbled as imbalance was getting the best of her. Without the arms that snaked around her waist, she would have fallen back down to the cold floor.

"Toph, take it easy. You're still a little out of it."

She had finally figured out whose voice echoed through her ears. Letting out a big breath, she fought back, "Snoozles, I'm...fine alright."

"You are most definitely not fine."

The earthbender grabbed the councilman's arms that were helping her stand and threw them off of herself. She took a minute to collect her strength. Finally, her sight was starting to become somewhat clear. She was now able to make out all the people in the room. Altough her feet were starting to return to normal, her stance was shaky and unsure. She took a step and ended up stumbling and grabbing on to the nearest thing possible: one hand on a nearby table and the other onto a collection of robes right in front of her.

An arm once again came around and held her. "Toph, you need to be careful. You are still unstable."

Aang helped her to one of the tables and sat her down. However, the small being, like she had done to Sokka, refused the avatar's arms away from her. She hated this feeling. This deep feeling of need. It brought back memories of her father. _Fragile. Small. Helpless_. She had fought back those words and changed them to strong, brave and heroic. That's what she wanted to be. Nothing else. But right now, she couldn't stand up on her own. Her head was spinning. Arms reached out to her to help her but she refused with great anger. She didn't want help. She didn't want to fill her father's expectations.

"Stop being so difficult. You need to see Katara." Aang said as sincere as possible.

She growled at him. "I can handle myself. Sugar Queen doesn't need to use her magical water on me."Her voice softened. "I just need a minute."

"Toph..." Sokka started.

She turned in his general direction. "Shut it! I don't need to be checked. What I need to do is find out what is going on, where Yakone is and see if everyone else is fine."

She heard a sigh. "Everyone else is recovering fine. They are all walking around and getting everything situated and back to normal. For Yakone, he is in the hands of your officers."

"What? I have to get over there and make sure he isn't bloodbending them!" She tried standing once again and succeeded, but her knees buckled and she still had a hand up to her head. _What is wrong with me?_

"Don't worry. I took his bending away." Aang said putting a hand on her shoulder. A small ache erupted as she was still sore. _Was this the effects of bloodbending?_

Sokka was the next to speak. "Why is she recovering different? Everybody else in the room is walking around normally?"

"I have no idea. That's why we need to get her back to Katara." Aang answered concerned.

Toph fought all contact once again. "I'm fine already!" She started walking, or more like limping, away from them. Her head continued to pound against her skull. _Why am I suffering? Everyone else is fine. Why me?_ The strength in legs started to fade and she found herself stumbling more and more. Her breathing was returning to quick puffs. Everything was coming back to her. The feeling of not having control of her body. The way she begged to be put back on the ground but was only raised higher into the air. Being totally blind. It was starting to take over her body. The fear.

_Thud_.

Her face was what hit the cold stone floor first. The impact brought massive pain into her head, too much for her to handle. Consciousness evaded her slowly. The voices in the back started to fade into the air as she went back to her peaceful place.

"_Toph! Toph!"_

_"Wake up!"_

Peace.

* * *

This wasn't the same place. She still felt numb, yet she knew where she was. She was on a bed in Air Temple Island, resting. But she still felt as if she was out of her body. It annoyed her in a way. She wanted that peacefulness that she was feeling earlier. This will have to do.

What was also different was that she could hear outside. Familiar voices circled around her, ones that she had known for most of her life.

_"What happened to her?"_

"_She seemed to be in some sort of shock."_

_"Shock? Shock from what? She seemed as stubborn as the first time that we met her."_

_"Sokka, I don't know. She is the one that would have to tell us. You know how that will go."_

_"You think it might have been caused by the bloodbending?"_

_"Everyone else was fine. People were walking around fine. She on the other hand could barely stand. Could your fancy bending explain that?"_

She heard a distant grunt. Suddenly, the soreness and headache was starting to come into focus. She was starting to come back to reality, a straining process for her. Each ache that appeared on her body caused her to groan and moan. Irritation soon set in and her face turned into a scowl. She could have sworn she let out a growl as well. Her noises didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the people in the room. Sokka, Aang and Katara soon gathered around her, closing in on her face. She could feel their warmth and it was much unpleasant.

"Can someone have some room to breathe around here?" She asked rudely. Naturally she brought her hands up to her head and rubbed her temples. The presence of each person soon moved away from her personal space and she let in fresh air into her lungs. Still no comfort at all.

"Toph?" a worried voice called out. She recognized it quickly.

"Yes, Twinkle Toes?" She opened her eyes to seem as if she were listening.

Aang sighed. "What happened? Why were you so much more unstable than everyone else?"

"How should I know? First time being victimized by b-bloodbending here."

Katara, Aang and Sokka all looked at each other. Katara spoke up. "Did you just stutter?"

Toph halted her movements. _What is going on with me?_ It was just blood bending. It was just another form of bending just like metal bending was. It was different...unusual...inhuman...terrifying. Deja vu started flashing through her mind. The feeling of being forced off the ground. Being truly blind. The panic setting in as she tried to fight back but she was just hurting herself. She hadn't noticed but she started to slightly shiver. Her actions didn't go ignored.

"Are you sure you don't know? You were in some sort of shock." the waterbender informed her.

Toph turned her head in the group's general direction. "My body just reacted differently. I should be fine."

"Momma!"

The small voice came from across the room. Toph would know that voice anywhere and she would cherish it forever. The little girl's steps were heavy and loud, steps of a true earthbender, as she raced towards the bed and jumped a top of the mattress. Toph sat up to greet her daughter. Lin plopped herself on top of her mother's lap and stared deep into her mother's milky eyes that hid just a small tint of green. The smaller Beifong wasn't oblivious to the deeper meaning of her mother's eyes. Although she was only seven years old, she was the only one that could tell when her mother was upset, or mad, or hurting, or scared.

"Momma, you're scared." Lin made her way to place her hands on each side of her mother's face. Toph appreciated the gesture. She grabbed her daughter's head gently and pulled her close so she could whisper into her ear. Lin giggled and turned towards her Aunt and Uncles.

"Hey meatheads! Get out! We need some privacy!"

The three standing were taken aback. The child's abrasive attitude scared them and made them picture a twelve year old earthbender that they had met many years ago. Too scared to see what would happen if they stayed, they "left." Katara pulled the two men to stay put behind the wall near the door.

"What are you doing? Toph will see us!" Sokka said scared.

Katara slapped him. "Not if her feet aren't on the ground. She has to stay in bed and rest." The men nodded in agreement and continued to spy.

Back in the room, the mother and daughter remained in the same positions. Lin continued her gaze at her mother's face. It was stern and proud as always. Her mother was always like that, courageous and egotistic. That's what Lin wanted to be. A strong and powerful woman like her mother. But right now, she could see the deeper emotions residing within her mother.

"Why are you scared, Momma?"

Toph held her daughter's hands that remained on her cheeks. "A bad man hurt Momma today."

"Are you okay? Momma did you kick his butt?" The massive concern in Lin's voice amused Toph.

"Not this time, kiddo. Uncle Aang did this time. He took away his bending."

Lin gasped. "Woah!"

"I'm glad too." Toph could feel tears forming in her eyes. "He made me blind."

"But Momma, you are already blind." The seven year old was very confused.

"You know how I can see through my feet right, Lin?" The child answered a quick yes and she continued. "Well, the b-bad man lifted m-me off the ground with his b-bending and I c-couldn't see."

Lin was surprised to hear her mother's words come out shaken and nervous. The corner of her mother's eyes had collected with tears, ready to spill down her face.

"The bad man can't hurt you anymore Momma." She raised her small hands to her mother's cheek and wiped the now silently streaming tears away. "I promise that if he ever comes to you again, I'll beat him up! No one makes my Momma cry!"

From behind the wall outside of the room, the three adults were on the verge of tears.

"It's just so beautiful." Sokka commented, the other two next to him could only nod.

Back in the room, Toph was gently chuckling now. "Thanks, my little badgermole."

Lin wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. "No problem, Momma badgermole!"

Toph lifted Lin and placed her on the ground and then sat up so that she could put her own feet on the ground. The two earthbenders paused and turned towards each other, Lin looking directly at her mother while Toph's blank gaze was directed to the ground.

Toph whispered quietly to the child. "Do you see what I'm seeing?"

"Yup." Lin closed her eyes and focused carefully on three heartbeats right outside the door. The seven year old opened her eyes and looked towards her mother. "What should we do?"

Toph whispered into her ear and Lin nodded. The child took a strong earthbending stance. Her mother placed her calloused hands on her small shoulders. "Focus carefully. Think box."

Lin closed her eyes and listened attentively to the vibrations of the earth. With one quick motion she brought her arms up and closed her hands into strong fists.

A loud shifting of rocks shocked the three carefully listening outside. Soon enough, large walls of stone trapped them in a dark box. Within the seconds of moving rocks, Aang had turned the wrong way and slammed face first into one of the walls and was out instantly. Katara screamed loudly while Sokka started to hit the tall stone walls.

"Darn it, Toph! You knocked Aang out!" the waterbender yelled furiously.

However, the two earthbenders were too busy rolling on the floor laughing loudly.


End file.
